SHARED GROUND
"I have lived in Camden for several years, and it has become much more than just a place where I live; it feels like a community that I am proud to be part of." - Participant
What makes an urban space feel like home? How do personal stories reshape the busy streets of Camden we walk every day? Shared Ground is a collaborative project produced by ODAC in partnership with Camden Council and with funding from the Council of Europe. The initiative brings together six participants with lived experience of migration alongside two professional artists, Alisa Oleva and Tara Fatehi. Together, they are sharing powerful stories of identity, connection, and the unique personal meanings rooted in the borough of Camden.
PUBLIC WALKING TOUR
"When you move, what makes the new city feel like home?" This is one of the questions we explored on Saturday 17th October, when we hosted a public walking tour for Shared Ground. It felt like a wonderful culmination of the project, giving participants the chance to share their emotional and physical geographies of Camden and celebrate the stories and places that matter to them.
Thank you to everyone who came along and listened to the stories that were shared. Take a look at our photo gallery of the day! Photos by Alice Horsley.
ABOUT THE PROJECT
Through a series of five creative workshops, participants have turned their emotional and physical geographies of Camden into a collaborative, handmade map and zine, with the project culminating in an accessible participant- and artist-led public walking tour. The initiative highlights the specific places where community, growth, and solace intersect. For our participants, these spaces span the entire borough, transforming everyday locations into deeply meaningful landmarks.
Artists Alisa and Tara have invited the group to take part in a wide variety of creative experiences. These include mapping personal journeys through Camden, taking pencil impressions to record specific details, sharing moving personal reflections, engaging in collaborative group activities, and, of course, walking!
A recent highlight was a walk through King's Cross and along the Regent's Canal towards Camden. Together, the group took in the unique sights and sounds along the way - a special bench by the London Bookbarge to sit and imagine, the riotous graffiti, people-watching, and sunset at Camden Lock.
We are excited to have worked with artists Alisa Oleva and Tara Fatehi, who are guiding participants on a creative journey to map the places that hold meaning and memories.
Alisa Oleva: A London-based walking artist who explores the politics of public space, urban choreography, and the hidden traces within a city.
Tara Fatehi: An artist, writer, and performer whose work lives at the intersection of the sociopolitical and the poetic, focusing on memories, words, and physical sites.
Hear from the artists:
“When you move, what makes the new city feel like home? What places become important markers on the map? How are we collectively remapping the city with our stories and memories?
Each person in this group comes from a different place and context. Here, we meet through many coincidences, life choices, and forces. We walk together. We tell our stories. We listen: to the birds, the water, the laughter, the noise of the roads and the ambulance. We talk about games, songs, dates, diversity, babies, libraries, books, and graffiti. We get to know each other through our memories of places around Camden. But let’s face it, it’s not all joy. There’s tears, there’s tents, there’s ‘this market is SO expensive’.
Through a series of five creative workshops, we facilitate the participants turning their emotional and physical geographies of Camden into a collaborative map and co-create a street route that celebrates the stories and places that are important to them.”
All photographs taken during Shared Ground Workshops and Public Walking Tour
This document has been produced with the financial assistance of the Council of Europe. The views expressed herein can in no way be taken to reflect the official opinion of the Council of Europe.